The Flame Emperor appeared, breaking through space.
His appearance was a sight to behold.
He was wearing a matching set of a famous sports brand’s tracksuit, a VR headset on his head, a bag of snacks in one hand, and a comic book in the other.
The very picture of a shut-in!
“Huh? Disciple?”
The Flame Emperor lifted his VR goggles and tilted his head.
“Master… what are you doing?”
“What do you mean? I’m playing. The Wi-Fi suddenly cut out, so I was flustered.”
A famous troublemaker of the Dream World and an absolute being who had even achieved Ascension.
But even he could not resist the cultural bombardment of Earth.
Earth’s dopamine-inducing culture was far too stimulating, and for someone who had grown bored of mountain life in Cheonoecheon, it was far too great a temptation.
Hadn’t the Flame Emperor recently been following Goeseung around as punishment?
He was overflowing with playfulness, yet he had been forced to stay in the mountains, so how stifling must it have been?
The moment he gained freedom, he was doing all sorts of degenerate things.
“Anyway… is this the Great Light Spirit Realm?”
“Yes. I came to find the Final Secret Technique.”
“And you crossed the wall of the Transcendental Realm well?”
“That is right.”
Lee Tae-sung nodded with a proud expression.
He had not expected the same shock as Samuel, but surely he would at least give some praise?
“See? I was right, wasn’t I? If you swing a sword a few times, you go whoosh! and rise up. That’s the Transcendental Realm.”
“……”
But at the answer that followed, he only came to understand why the Flame Emperor was so widely hated on the continent.
‘He is my master, but I really want to hit him once!’
“…Let us skip that. I have a request. Please guide me to where the Final Secret Technique is.”
“Originally, I was going to ask a passing spirit, but I cannot see any.”
“Huh? You’re right. Normally they live freely here and there. Where did everyone go?”
The Flame Emperor tilted his head.
“Well, whatever. I came so long ago that my memory is hazy, but if we go nearby, I will remember. Let’s go take a look.”
“Please, I ask of you.”
The Flame Emperor started walking with the comic book and VR headset tucked under his arm.
The highest-grade spirit who ruled the Great Light Spirit Realm.
As soon as he realized a Gate that pierced the Dimensional Wall had appeared, he immediately ordered the spirits in the area nearby.
He gave them orders.
<Everyone, clear out! Do not even show your faces near that area!>
He was a human connected to the Flame Emperor.
Someone who was highly likely to be a successor who had inherited his true teachings.
Making an enemy of him would also be a loss.
He simply did not want to be associated with him at all.
If the other party came to the Great Light Spirit Realm, he hoped they would see nothing, be disappointed, and leave again.
That was his wish.
Therefore, he tracked the direction Lee Tae-sung was moving in real time and evacuated all the Light Spirits in that location.
That was what he did.
However…
<…? What? Why is he coming here?>
He was coming exactly to the palace where the highest-grade spirit resided.
He wondered if they had accidentally chosen this direction, so he stayed still, but the other party was approaching here at tremendous speed.
They were getting closer.
In the past thousands of years, only once had a being that was not a spirit set foot in his palace.
It was the moment the Flame Emperor had invaded without permission.
<Hoo, there is no helping it.>
Because he did not want to repeat the mistake of that time, the highest-grade spirit made up his mind.
If they came this far, he would repel them in front of the palace!
With that thought, he gathered his subordinate spirits and formed a battle line in front of the palace.
Before long, he saw humans racing toward him at tremendous speed.
To be precise, there were two humans.
However, the moment the highest-grade spirit saw the red hair and red beard, he could not even properly check the human beside him.
That was impossible.
<Fl-Fl-Fl-Flame Emperor!!!>
The highest-grade Light Spirit screamed like thunder.
Why was that one here?!
He had been aware of Lee Tae-sung’s movements for a while, but he had not been seeing it with his eyes.
It was sensing energy, but because the Flame Emperor had perfectly hidden his energy, he thought Lee Tae-sung was alone.
That was what he had mistakenly thought.
The light rippled and surged according to the disturbance of his emotions.
“Oh?”
The Flame Emperor recognized him as well.
“It’s been a while. Have you been well?”
<Have I been well?>
Of course he had been well.
He was one of the masters of the Spirit Realm, so there was nothing for him to be stressed about.
“It is always quiet here, isn’t it.”
The Flame Emperor’s words were indeed correct.
The problem was simply that it was absurd to hear the main culprit who caused the greatest uproar in history say such a thing.
‘I ascended. I am no longer bound by lifespan.’
<…You transcended your species? All life in the universe must have mourned.>
‘Tsk. Is it because he has never had a social life? His way of speaking is still the same. Even before, he spoke so rudely like that. He got hit for it, didn’t he?’
<…>
When the Flame Emperor raised his fist, the highest-grade spirit had no choice but to shut his mouth.
<…Just tell me the purpose of your visit, Flame Emperor.>
“Ah, it is nothing else. When I came here before, I left something behind. I came to find it.”
<Something you left behind? There was nothing here.>
Several hundred years ago.
At the time of the Flame Emperor’s invasion, a tremendous battle unfolded that nearly destroyed this palace.
When it was restored later, it was almost rebuilt from scratch, but during that process, there was nothing like the Flame Emperor’s belongings.
If there had been any, they would have been annihilated without leaving even a speck of dust!
“I will find it myself, so just step aside.”
<…….>
“Why? Do you want to fight? Shall we go at it again like back then?”
<…No. This time, please do not destroy anything.>
“Do you think I do that whenever I feel like it? Do not worry.”
The Flame Emperor confidently walked on, but the Light Spirits could not help but watch him.
Their eyes were full of worry.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”
Lee Tae-sung followed behind him, bowing his head repeatedly.
He felt truly sorry for having such a pathetic master.
‘Thank goodness they did not fight.’
Once inside the palace, Lee Tae-sung felt inwardly relieved.
In truth, he had been anxious, wondering if the Flame Emperor might fight the Light Spirits.
Of course, he also felt sorry for the Flame Emperor’s thuggish behavior, but if they fought, it would clearly put a strain on his body.
That was certain.
Now that he had crossed the wall of the Transcendental Realm, keeping the Flame Emperor summoned was bearable, but if he used his power, it was different.
It was another matter.
That impact would come directly to Lee Tae-sung, and it was clear he still could not withstand it.
Even if they won a battle against the Light Spirits, it would be a victory that left only wounds.
In any case, he was glad it worked out well.
Thus they arrived at the deepest part of the palace.
In the place where the highest-grade spirit resided, there was a core that maintained this Great Spirit Realm itself.
“This is a fragment of pure light.”
Pointing to a pure white crystal at the center of the palace, the Flame Emperor spoke.
“When I came here, I agonized greatly. If I ever raised a disciple, how I would pass down my Final Secret Technique in the old way was such a headache.”
The Flame Emperor’s Hybrid was incomplete.
Up to the Heavenly Fire Holy Law Art, it was fine, but from the moment he learned the Black Lotus Divine Skill, he leaned too far toward the demonic.
That was the issue.
“I broke through the wall of the Flame Realm.”
“Forcibly unifying the Demonic Energy of the Black Lotus Divine Skill was possible, but for an ordinary talent, that is impossible.”
“That is right.”
The Flame Realm, of all things.
Was it not a Realm that only one person in the current era had reached?
There were even many eras without a Flame Realm.
If it was a technique that could only be overcome by reaching the Flame Realm, then it was as good as a failed technique.
Who could possibly train in such a thing?
“So I agonized for a long time over how to overcome that, and the answer I found was the Light Spirit.”
If one accepted the power of a pure Light Spirit, could they not control the Demonic Energy?
To confirm that, the Flame Emperor traveled with Leo, a Spirit Master, and after research, headed toward the Great Light Spirit Realm and opened a Gate leading there.
He wanted to see the purest light, but the spirits would not step aside because it was precious, so he fought them.
After beating them all down with force, he confirmed it.
The result was as satisfying as his efforts deserved.
“If refined for a long time, it becomes a light-attribute Elixir gentle and powerful enough to control the Black Lotus Divine Skill. You see.”
“How long?”
“About several hundred years? But you do not need to worry. Back then, I secretly started refining it without these guys knowing. You see.”
After confirming the pure light, the Flame Emperor secretly tweaked the light attribute without the spirits knowing.
He adjusted it to fit perfectly with the Flame Emperor’s Hybrid.
Even at that time, he was at the Flame Realm, so he could use Spiritual Will to perform delicate manipulations enough to deceive the spirits’ eyes.
Such intricate manipulation was possible.
“It is ripe. Eat it. Originally, so that a successor could learn it on their own, just by ingesting it, they could understand the secrets of the Final Secret Technique well.”
“I put it inside so they could know. Though for you, since I can just tell you, it is probably not very useful.”
“0….”
The Flame Emperor picked up the crystal and handed it over, and Lee Tae-sung subtly watched the highest-grade spirit far away.
He was gauging his reaction.
The Light Spirit seemed to be trembling, but was it really okay to eat it?
Even though its appearance was completely different from a human’s, its emotions were conveyed clearly, as if it would kill them all if it could.
It radiated that kind of feeling.